How do kids have time for multiple activities???
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Anonymous
| My daughter just started middle school. She has one main sport that takes up about 2 hours per night - she loves it. Once you factor in the driving time to and from, all there is time for is HW, and just barely. How do kids fit in other activities, like an after-school club or something like that? I marvel at kids who are fitting in multiple sports and extracurriculars. Trying to figure out how to make it all work. |
Anonymous
| Op, what may not be happening, what might not be getting done, you don't see. |
Anonymous
| We tried one after school club through the school in 7th grade with a travel sport and 2 off season sports when the travel Sport was off-season (but still practicing). It was too much. DS dropped the after school club this year and just does the Sports (and well gaming in his little free time! Fortnight ???). |
Anonymous
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It's pretty easy for us to find the time. My kids ride their bikes from MS and get home about 2:30pm. They go to bed around 9pm. That gives them about 6 hours of time to fill. Here are some approximate times, though it obviously varies depending on the day: sports practice (1.5 to 2 hours), homework (1-1.5 hours), clubs (1 hour), dinner (30 min), hanging out and watching TV (1 hour). Some days they have no sports practice and some days they have no clubs. They use their extra time to hang out with friends, shoot baskets, play ping pong, read, jump on the neighbor's trampoline, argue with each other, etc.
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Anonymous
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You DO realize that not everyone has a long commute, right? And you ALSO realize that not everyone is in an activity that meets every single night.
That's how. |
Anonymous
| OP here. So here is how it breaks down for us. Daughter gets home at 3pm. 3-3:30: chill. 3:30-4:15: Homework, then get ready to go to practice. 4:30-7:15 2+ hour practice plus commute time (10 minutes each way plus some time to chat with friends after). 7:15 to 7:40 ish - change, shower, eat. 7:40 - 8:30: finish HW. And then wind down for the night. Really no extra time. To respond to PP: My question is aimed at those who DO multiple activities, not those who do not. |
Anonymous
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Sometimes my kids stay after school and I pick them up at five.
Other times, I drop them off at a gym or dance studio that is within 5-15 min of our house and my H picks up on his way home. We have 3 kids who are each in 3-4 things and it all works out. Home by 6 at the latest then dinner and hw. They go to bed around 8:30-9. I’m not sure what you think is so difficult?? |
Anonymous
I think with the every night multiple hour sport, there’s no way. We have that some nights but not every night. |
Anonymous
| Most aren't doing 2 hour sports every night and doing lots of extra activities. We do one sport 4-5 days a week and music one day a week but instructor comes to the house. |
Anonymous
How many days/nights a week are they each doing per activity? If its one night or day a week, 3-4 activities is easy but not when one is every day. |
Anonymous
Two sports meet 3x a week, one 2x, one 1x a week |
Anonymous
| She is doing the same activity (one sport) each day for almost three hours (4:30-7:15). Other kids are doing multiple different activities (sport, music, club) for those three (or two) hours per day. Same amount of time used in dinner fferent ways. It would be difficult for her to do much else when she spends so much time on one activity. Nothing wrong with what she’s doing, but it does preclude other activities. |
Anonymous
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I think a lot of kids are doing a few activities that require less time. I’ve known a small handful of families who have a schedule more like you’re describing, where their main activity was a sport with 3-4 practices/week with long hours. In one case, the kid had chosen this sport over others and so had stopped doing most other activities. However I’ll point out that some rec sports and lots of other activities (like Scouts, martial arts, odyssey of the mind, dance class all come to mind) often have a 6-7 or even later class or practice time.
I don’t think it would be ideal to do 2 hours of one activity, cram in dinner/HW, go to another activity but it is technically possible. |
Anonymous
| I’m not sure any of these responders live in DC. Traffic is awful here. Unless you live in suburbia, very little sports involves a 10 minute drive. And I know not a one MS kid who rides their bike to an afterschool activity anywhere in the city. This is DCUM. If you don’t live here, you can’t relate |
Anonymous
| We don't do everything as well as we'd like. Instrument practice might just be 15 min, dinner is sometimes in the car, and homework is often started on the bus. |